Sometimes it's best that I don't think about what I've spent on tubes for this little shiny box of Schiit.

You have that one right, brother! I refuse to think about it; I merely to attempt to curtail future purchases :-)

On another note - I've been listening today to the Lorenz PCC88 3-Mica Stuttgarts, with HD800, and I am liking them a whole lot better than the last time I heard them. They seem to have opened up a good deal; burn-in perhaps. Still not at the top of my favorites list, but now up there with the RTC's, which is a substantial improvement. I think I'll leave them in the Lyr for awhile to see if they continue to improve with more burn-in (they don't have very many hours on them at this point).

I saw your ebay sale and I pm'd you here enquiring about the silver shields but you never replied ? I assumed you had sold them already or got too many messages !

the pair i bought are early 80's, not sure of exact year, will find out when i get them in a couple of days. At only $8 a pop I wasn't too fussed and they were within my country

I dont know what year the mullards are - I'm still a noob with tubes and had no idea what year/s to borrow.

I was fortunate enough to make contact with a semi-retired, semi-amateur tube dealer who lives just 10mins away. Went to his house and he has boxes of vintage tubes for the lyr from the 6DJ8, ECC88, 7308, 6922 AND E88CC families . It was kid in the candy store time as I spotted all the famous makes and types of tubes written about on here. Being an old school character he loaned me 4 x pairs without any deposit or credit card - pretty unbelievable nowadays. Reckons only once in 30 years has he been let down and that was to a local 18 yr old who wanted a little dot tube. Whatever i keep I will get more details on and test results. He seemed to have a lot of mullards, what years/variants are the best ?

Right now I have just popped in the Amperex PQ's, made in USA with orange lettering and gold pins.Too hard to read the date codes without a magnifying glass. First immediate impression is that they sound very light and clear compared to the mullards. Only been in for an hour so need another day at least to pick up on their finer characteristics. Seem like they may be good for classical or jazz !

edit: an hour later they sound completely different - much more full bodied - sounding very nice indeed - wish i had 2 x lyr's now so I could do quick comparisons

Ah yes sorry, quite often i read PM's and think i'll get round to them later, on this occasion i forgot all about it, been a hectic week at work with the boss being off.

Hedphonz, my favorite Mullards are the CV2493 which are the 10,000 hour military version of the 6922. I have three sets in my collection (from the 60s, 70s, and 80s) and I prefer them "the older the better" as the saying goes.

IMO, they are different from the Amperex valves in that the Mullards have even more warmth in the mids which gives them a nice smooth "tubey" sound.

Can you describe the Mullards that the dealer loaned you? Halo getter, any markings, etc?

after listening to the telefunkens and amperex's i think im a basshead - the mullards were the most enjoyable to me so I may concentrate my efforts on obtaining a few variants of these. I love the bass and warmth but also love detail and smooth treble, dont like the idea of sacrificing resolution at all -

Any recommendations for Mullard's that can offer the best of both worlds ?

The CV2493 is a beautiful sounding tube. It is a selected CV2492, for low noise. The CV2492 is a direct military equivalent to 6922 / E88CC. In the UK the commercial equivalent of the CV2493 is an E88CC - 01 which is often overlook but again selected for low noise (hence the - 01 designation). Basically the CV2493 is a step up from the already premium 6922 / E88CCs.

I agree on the Voskhods...I have the '80 silver shields and they are a fantastic tube, especially on the bang for the buck scale. The La Radiotechnique RTC's are a beautiful tube as well, supremely detailed and pure. And the Mullards I posted the link to above get most of my headtime with my Beyerdynamic T1's. Meaty, ultra-"tubey" smooth without any sacrifice in detail, gorgeous soundstage. They are where the budget may become an issue tho, lol.